Mounting a roof rack to a tithonus land rover?

[owas]

My 110 has a fiberglass body, with an internal roll cage and ive decided i want a simple roof rack on top,

Attaching it to the front hoop that sticks outside is simple enough but im not sure how to go about supporting it at the rear as the roll cage is internal.

Ive seen wolf defenders with the same fiberglass top that look like the rack is mounted straight to the body, but the top seems a little flimsy to me.

 

[gordon stephenson]

How close to the internal hoops to the roof? If its pretty close you could use rivets right through with a small amount of sealer. Then the roof-rack would bolt directly to them and be very stable.

 

[owas]

Missed these before but it looks like i can use these bolt holes with a spacer in between the body and the roll hoop

 

[Robotstar5]

Ditch the fibreglass body and bolt a few bits on, saw this last weekend.

 

[GW8IZR]

That's one way I've seen it done.

The other way was to use those tabs (or similar attached to cage) with standoffs going through grommeted holes in the glass top - reduces cracking of the glass with vibration and thermal movement.

Absolutely right , there is a lot of movement between that cage and the roof, if you don't allow for that movement it will crack.

 

[Westfield-builder]

Ditch the fibreglass body and bolt a few bits on, saw this last weekend.

View attachment 115881

Is that a green "Pink Panther" ?

 

[Robotstar5]

Is that a green "Pink Panther" ?

I think it was a WMIK Wolf (waits to be corrected) there was an original Series Pink Panther but I will have to check if I took a photo (took nearly 400 that day!)

 

[owas]

That's one way I've seen it done.

The other way was to use those tabs (or similar attached to cage) with standoffs going through grommeted holes in the glass top - reduces cracking of the glass with vibration and thermal movement.

That's one way I've seen it done.

The other way was to use those tabs (or similar attached to cage) with standoffs going through grommeted holes in the glass top - reduces cracking of the glass with vibration and thermal movement.

Would nylon spacers instead of steel work to reduce the vibration between the two?

The idea in my head right now is flat plate bolting through the body to the internal bracket with a 90 degree bend round tube going straight up.
Then the actual rack will have t shaped key klamp fittings that slot over the top of the tube comming off the mounting plate making it easier to install and remove.

 

[owas]

Could i use an m12 bolt as the stand off?
So 1 nut to secure it to the plate on the roll cage, then the bolt passes through a larger hole in the body, then the roof rack mount sandwiched between 2 more nuts.

There would be 8 bolts holding the rack up, and theres only about 10mm between the roll cage and body.

 

[owas]

Should be all good with the design now, mounts all welded up, looks like the weather should be ok this weekend to finish it off.

One question i do have is,
The top of the rack will be a single deck round tube rectangle 2 meters long (as this looks best and not out of place with the slope)

To carry on 8x4 peice of sheet material on top, what would be the best lashing method?

 

[awemawson]

A heavy child

 

[owas]

A heavy child

Dont have one of those yet, ill ask if i can borrow one

 

[GW8IZR]

A heavy child

Thats's fantastic, I thought child labour had been abolished. Back to some sensible working practice at last :-)

 

[postie jon]

a couple of bungees, aawgh it will never move

 

[Robotstar5]

One question i do have is,
The top of the rack will be a single deck round tube rectangle 2 meters long (as this looks best and not out of place with the slope)

To carry on 8x4 peice of sheet material on top, what would be the best lashing method?

I use 25mm wide ratchet straps for sheets or timber, not lost any yet.

 

[armalites]

To carry on 8x4 peice of sheet material on top, what would be the best lashing method?

A friend of told me other day how had put an 8x4 sheet of ply in the bottom of his Ifor and thought it would fine. He said next thing he couldn't see any cars behind and realised the board flipped up and amazingly had jammed itself inbetween the tailgate and the bed and was sitting vertically.

 

[owas]

Ratchet straps are the only thing to even consider - ropes and bungees should be banned for roof and trailer loads.

I wouldnt entertain the idea of using anything other than straps.

I do get them free

Would it be better to put tie down points, i have quite a few 12mm thick lugs, or should just strapping around the round tube suffice for most things?

I almost forgot this is the sort of thing i cant go crazy overkill with due to the weight

 

[owas]

Turned out okay i think

 

[MORRISDL]

@owas Long term: How has the top & rack worked out and has the top cracked ? Thanks!

 

[owas]

No issues with the rack or top ,Carries anything I need it to and its very solid.

Does need a repaint at some point.